Rififi à Tokyo (1962)
Directed by Jacques Deray

Film Review

Jaques Deray's second film - following Le Gigolo (1960) - is this stylish and largely successful attempt at imitating the American gangster movie, complete with action shootouts, morally ambiguous heroes and a spectacular robbery sequence.  The exotic location and grand bank sets gives the film a sense of scale which few French thrillers of this period could match, whilst the cinematography perfectly evokes the mood of classic film noir.  The only let down is the script, which is hampered by a few too many incidental characters and sub-plots, and some implausible, pretty shallow characterisation.  The bank robbery, however, is masterfully staged, and manages to capture the essence of the great heist movies of the past, notably Jules Dassin's 1955 film Du rififi chez les hommes (which is also based on one of crime writer Auguste Le Breton's famous “Rififi” novels).

Film Synopsis

Before he retires, the veteran crook Van Hekkin plans to pull off the crime of his career, by stealing a huge and valuable diamond from a vault in a Tokyo bank.  Knowing that the vault is protected by an incredibly sophisticated security system, Van Hekkin recruits an electronics engineer, Pierre Mérigné, to help in disabling it.  His other criminal associates include the Italian gangster Luigi, an adventurer named Riquet and Japanese nightclub hostess Asami, whose brother happens to work in the bank and is another willing accomplice in the heist.

The preparations for the daring crime have not gone unnoticed by the local mobster Kan, who attempts to scupper it by killing Riquet.  The latter is replaced by his friend Mersen, a European living in exile who wastes no time going after Kan and making him pay for Riquet's death.  After a number of setbacks caused by Mérigné's fragile state of mind, Van Hekkin is finally able to put his meticulously planned heist into operation.  Unfortunately, the bank vault turns out to be far more secure than he had supposed.  It proves to be a fatal mistake...